Israelis have gathered outside the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv to demand that the government prioritize the release of Palestinian prisoners who are still being held in Gaza rather than escalating military operations there.
Up to 60 000 reserve troops were mobilized as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s plan to resurrect the besieged Palestinian enclave, prompting the demonstration on Saturday.
A protester raised a placard with the message “our tyrant is a liar, because of him the state is on fire” in front of him.
The 59 remaining captives will be pressured into releasing them by government officials, according to government officials, but critics claim that this will put lives on further risk. No more prisoners have been released since the end of the flimsy ceasefire, which saw Palestinian prisoners exchanged for Israeli prisoners earlier this year.
One of the Israeli prisoners, identified as Maxim Herkin, was allegedly captured in a video that Hamas distributed on Saturday. Herkin is pictured being saved by Hamas members in the four-minute video that was posted online after an Israeli prisoner was buried and hurt in an Israeli tunnel attack.
After learning about the government’s planned escalation and the potential impact it might have on those who are still being held in Gaza, the captives’ families said in a statement that they spent the Sabbath surrounded by “excruciating anxiety.”
The family-focused organization The Bring Them Home Campaign criticized the move as reckless.
In a post on X, the group stated that “Israel is on its way to sink into the Gaza mud in the name of the false hope that any victory can be won without our brothers and sisters being freed from captivity. The “living and the dead, as well as the kidnapped” will be in danger if the fighting is extended.
They urged Netanyahu to give up the offensive and instead reach a deal that would bring the captives back. The group remarked, “Stop this mistake.”
Protests are insufficient to influence Netanyahu, they say.
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy told Al Jazeera that while the protest movement is strong, it lacks the momentum to challenge Netanyahu’s coalition. Levy remarked, “It’s the same old protest, very courageous and committed, but not big enough to influence Netanyahu.”
He noted that “when]Israelis] are called to war, they will obey,” and that a large portion of Israeli society still backs the war effort, even as the families of the captives grow more irritable.
At a press conference in Jerusalem on Thursday, Netanyahu said that releasing prisoners was the top priority for Israel, not putting them to death. He declared, “We want to bring all of our hostages home.” The ultimate goal of the war is victory over our adversaries, which we will accomplish.
